


hey pinocchio

by cabeswatered



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Marriage Proposal, because andreil get married because i say so, the title is so stupid im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27984837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabeswatered/pseuds/cabeswatered
Summary: "hey, pinocchio, don't run. this one's for you."
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 14
Kudos: 169





	hey pinocchio

**Author's Note:**

> heyyy y'all this is my first fic! it's very short lmao but i was inspired, i'm very passionate about this subject. anyway i hope y'all enjoy, and feel free to drop a comment <3

Neil Abram Josten. Aged 30, living in New York City. Plays for the New York Bears, starting striker and vice captain. Starting striker for the US Court, alongside Kevin Day and Jeremy Knox. Proud owner of a verified twitter account and a well-paid PR manager to match. Needs to take his cat to the vet tomorrow. Has a very-much something with one Andrew Minyard. Happy.  
These are the facts that Neil lists off in his head in the mornings, when he wakes with an arm draped across Andrew's body and balls of fur shoved between tangled legs. He's alive, and he's here, and he gets to stay.

*

It would be a lie to say that Neil hadn't thought about marriage before. Seriously considered it, even. but Andrew's never mentioned it, so he hadn't, either.

It's not that he worries about the commitment. He knows this is permanent. They swapped teams to be with each other, own two cats together, bought an apartment together. The only time this is nothing is when they're dancing around each other in their kitchen, laughing as they bicker and cook. Andrew is Neil's person, and he's Andrew's. They both know that, even if they've never felt a need to say it.

So no, Neil's not worried about commitment. He just doesn't want to ask for anything that Andrew can't give him, doesn't want to be the worst "no" that Andrew's ever had to give. and he doesn't mind, at all. He understands. He's happy with their relationship just as it is (that's another thing Andrew had started doing, calling it a relationship). He's happier than he's ever been, with Andrew at his side through everything.

*

Andrew, apparently, has something to say.  
He's been acting strange all morning, from tensing up the moment Neil awoke to avoiding his eyes as they drink their morning coffee. It's not a bad day - Andrew would've let him know if it was - so Neil is about to leave for a late morning run and let him stew in silence, maybe call Renee while he's gone, when he's stopped by the kitchen.

"Hey, Pinocchio, don't run," Andrew says, catching Neil by the sleeve of the shirt he stole for him. "This one's for you." And he holds out his hand.

Resting on his palm are two rings. Silver, flat bands. Plain and simple and shining. Wedding rings.

"Andrew, what -"

"Take one," he says. "The smaller one." His voice is strained. He's not looking Neil in the eyes, instead staring resolutely at a spot next to his head.

Neil takes the ring.

He slips it experimentally onto his finger. It fits perfectly. It's cold against his skin, wide and flat. He finds he can twist it easily around his finger, but it doesn't fall off. He looks up, skims his eyes across Andrew's face, from his jaw to his mussed-up hair to his eyes.

"Andrew, I -"

"Yes or no," Andrew demands, and oh, his eyes are shining and his jaw is clenched. He still won't look at Neil.

"I -" Neil starts. "Andrew, are you sure?"

"Do you think we'd be having this conversation if I wasn't damn sure? Yes or no."

Neil huffs a laugh. "Yes," he says simply. "Yes, Andrew, I'll marry you." The words feel nice in his mouth - like they fit.

Andrew's eyes snap to Neil's. "What, did you think I'd say no?" Neil laughs again. Then, more softly, "I haven't said no to you in years, Andrew. I don't plan to start any time soon. Put the ring on," he urges.

Andrew does, then looks back at Neil, eyes still wide.  
"We match," Neil says, and he's sure he's smiling like an idiot, and he reaches for Andrew at the same time that Andrew reaches for him, and they slot their mouths together, and yes, this is right. This is how Neil wants to stay forever.

*

Later, they're laying on their sides in their bed, in the bed they share in the apartment they share in New York, where it feels like they share everything because they're together, and they're not okay but they're getting there, and they know that it's never going to end.  
Neil's face is mere inches apart from Andrew's, their legs tangled together, Andrew over Neil over Andrew with sheets twisted in between. He likes it when they do this, and now they get to do it for the rest of their lives, officially. Their entire lives, he gets to have this man.

"Staring," Andrew accuses fondly.

Neil blows a hot breath into his face in retaliation, watching as he squints his eyes and scrunches his nose and his bangs flutter a bit before settling back down on his forehead. "Asshole," Andrew mutters, but he's not angry.

"Yeah," Neil agrees. "I was looking at your freckles." At this, Andrew's whole face goes slightly pink. "I like them," Neil needlessly informs him.

"Junkie."

Neil rolls himself forward and hums his agreement into Andrew's mouth.

They stay like that for a while, laying together and on top of each other and next to each other, and Neil feels like he could climb into Andrew's world and make a home there, right where it's warm, by his heart. 

Eventually, he speaks. "Hey," Neil asks Andrew. "How long have you been planning this?"

Andrew lifts his head from where he'd tucked it into Neil's shoulder. "Does it matter?"

"It matters to me."

"A few months."

Damn. Neil doesn't say anything for a moment, so Andrew takes that as his cue to drop his head back down. He's managed to somehow worm both their hands into the front pocket of Neil's hoodie, where he's playing idly with his boyfriend's - no, fiance's - fingers. 

"When'd you get the rings?"

Andrew sits up properly this time, removing his hands to press them into the mattress as he gets comfortable. "Two months ago," he says. In an answer to Neil's silent question, he continues, "I had to make sure you didn't start bothering me too much before I did it, or it would've been a good few hundred dollars gone to waste."

Neil smirks. "That would be a pity. So I proved interesting enough to keep around?"

"You've always been interesting," Andrew says gruffly, and then they're kissing again.

Yes, yes, yes. Neil never has to run again.

*

\+ Bonus:  
They're heading out to practice the next morning, rings tucked into the pockets of their duffel bags, when Neil pauses and turns to Andrew. he hadn't thought about it, before, had been too busy thinking about everything else, but-  
"Do we want to tell people?"  
"No," Andrew says shortly. At whatever look must be on Neil's face, he adds, "We can tell the Foxes. Wymack. Abby and Bee. But not the team. We'll tell management when it becomes relevant."  
When we're married, Neil hears, though he knows Andrew doesn't want to say it. Not right now, not here in the foyer on their way out to practice. He nods. "Okay."  
Andrew, satisfied, flicks him on the forehead as he passes and leaves ahead of him. They're halfway down the hall when Neil stops. "Hey," he says thoughtfully, gazing at Andrew earnestly, "Kevin's gonna freak when we tell him."  
The other man turns, and looking over his shoulder at Neil, he allows himself one more display of emotion. Andrew grins.

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't have a beta for this and i wrote it on my phone so if you see a typo. no you don't <3 love y'all thanks for reading!


End file.
